The Rise of Saint Angelica
by Sugoi Tetsuya
Summary: Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of the thirsting gods... Rate and Review
1. Chapter 1

240.032.M42

Thought of the Day: The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Imperium…

Prologue

On the ravaged world of Orchiden III, a bloody war is being fought. The orks of the Sawtoof clan has invaded the planet, hoping to secure an easy source of mineral wealth to build its army. But, to their horrible surprise, a regiment of guardsmen has been stationed there before they arrived. The first conflicts were only small raids, occurring sporadically every few months, though not in a force large enough to constitute reinforcements.

Five Months into the raids, deep space monitor stations picked up a disturbance in the warp. Two ork cruisers and a rok have been spotted, their arrival timed to reach the planet in one month. Sensing the urgency, a telepathic message had been sent out for reinforcements. Three days later a reply came back, stating reinforcements were en route and would arrive in six weeks. With those words, the regiment below went to work building up the defenses….

Six Weeks Later… 

**Aboard the vessel Kurinaxx, one of the many ships sent from tocks at Hydraphur to quell the ork invasion.**

"Alright maggots, listen up!" A loud voice echoed over the whispers of the new recruits. Sergeant Lother looked around as the voices immediately dimmed to silence.

"You're fresh out of training, and ready to fight mankind's enemies." He looked around once, into every recruit's eyes. "The emperor forsaken beasts we're about to annihilate are orks." The sergeant spat on the ground, as if the word 'ork' defiled him. The soldiers around him were in harnesses; some were shaking in fear, others had their head bowed in silent, frantic prayer, trying to calm themselves. "All you need to do is shoot the damn things until they die. Shoot them in their Emperor forsaken faces!" The sergeant's voice was strong, and loud, causing some to wince, either from headaches or fear that he'd spit on them. After completing his small, simple speech, the recognizable form of the regimental commissar entered.

"If you falter in your duty," he began, slowly, intimidatingly. "If you turn tail and run from the enemy in cowardice, I will execute the Emperor's holy justice upon you, putting a bolt round through the back of your head." His deep voice reverberated in everyone's chest like rolling thunder. The words caused many to soil themselves.

One private was particularly worried. Angelica Kore was recruited only because they needed one more soldier… and she happened to pass by the recruiting office.

_Why me,_ the words whimpered inside of her head, _why did _I_ have to be chosen?_ Angelica shook her head, eyes squeezed shut. _ I go to mass… I pray at night…why!_

A tear almost fell down her cheek, before a hand rested gently on her shoulder, meant to comfort her troubled, reeling mind.

"Ange, It's alright. We all must answer His call. It is not punishment, but a glorious honor to fight for His glory." Private Walker, her close friend in training and out, smiled. "Soon we'll be exacting the Emperor's righteous fury upon the xenos filth." He spoke in a hushed voice, yet it was calm. Conviction and faith was behind each word.

"Easy for you to say," she whispered, cracking a smile. "You're a man." Walker laughed, shaking her shoulder. She nearly was sick, though she hid it well.

"Same old Ange," he joked, winking. She grinned, yet her insides still boiled with fear. Even with his words, she was still screaming in her mind, both profanity and prayer for being chosen. But, as her gaze wandered from each, frantic recruit, one face touched her very soul. That man was Sergeant Lother. His scarred face and replaced limbs showed experience, and honor. His cold unflinching stare, never faulting, no matter what task put before it, was awe inspiring.

"What is it private!" Sergeant Lother barked when her gaze lingered too long. She jumped, nearly pissing herself, and let out a squeak, bumping her head on her headrest.

"Nothing, sir!" She replied in haste, averting her gaze to the silver Aquila dangling from her neck, grabbing it with her right hand, frantically praying.

"It's alright, private." His tone was softer, not so much a loud, cold bark. "We are all scared our first battle. As long as your faith isn't lacking, you will always be saved." She looked at him, her eyes brimming with appraisal, and she nodded. His words, despite herself, brought crystal tears brimming from her eyes.

After those words, klaxons began to blare, red lights flashing.

"Incoming enemy fire, ETA five minutes," the monotone, harsh voice of a servitor speaking over the growing noise of fretting soldiers was heard. Groans of fear and anguish were heard throughout the hull.

"Quiet you maggots! This is what you've been trained for!" Lother barked, his voice back to it's klaxon loud self. "We are comin' in hot, so you better be damn well prepared! _You _will bring the Emperor's light to this warp infested world!" His words came loud and unfaltering, clearly audible over the klaxons and the shouts of prayer. Suddenly, the new recruits began to slowly voice the Emperor's hymnal. Angelica felt a warm feeling deep in her gut; a reassuring feeling that everything was going to be alright, before she was suddenly blasted back.

A shockwave was sent through the craft, jarring the soldiers, causing them to howl in fear and pain. Angelica could feel the air sucked from her lungs as the decompression set in. A couple soldiers who were close to the breach were sucked right through their holsters, their limbs a misting, gory mess as their muscles and veins popped from the strain. Blood showered over many soldiers and they screamed, almost in fear of the slimy viscera against their faces. Before anymore could be sacrificed, automated servitors quickly sealed the breach. Angelica heard screaming, bewildered before she finally realized it was coming from her own throat. She silenced herself in time to hear Sergeant Lother shout over the panicking soldiers.

"WE HIT HARD IN TWO MINUTES! THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!" His last forceful words were le last words Angelica heard before the world turned white.


	2. Chapter 2

Private Angelica Kore slowly opened her eyes, screams and gunshots echoing all around her. With the shock of the crash landing still ringing in her ears, Ange scrambled to her fallen weapon. Picking it up, she ran to the nearest group of guardsmen, and started firing blindly in the direction they were shooting.

"Private!" A loud voice echoed over the din of war as Sergeant Lother looked up at her. "Glad you could join us! The left flank needs reinforcements!" Startled, Angelica nodded and stumbled over hills of bodies and rock, finally reaching the flank.

"I'm here! What are my orders?" Ange howled over the sounds of gunshots, before turning her head. What she saw made her let out a gasp of fear. She saw orks by the hundreds, roaring and waving bloodstained, rusted weapons. They were charging, but the sound seemed to be muted as a soft choir in the back of her mind began to grow, until it was the only thing she could here. A brilliant light formed around her, filling her with a supernatural, holy strength.

With a yell, she brought up her weapon, firing three round bursts, an ork falling with a scream with each regurgitation from the lasgun in her hand. The orks, even with their own stupidity, could see the folly in their advancements after a half an hour, and they fell back, their roars of rage and defeat in their language following them.

"For the Emperor!" Sergeant Lother roared in triumph, the joy of victory clear upon his face.

"For the Emperor," Private Angelica whispered to herself. She felt the fatigue of after-battle coursing through her body, and she nearly collapsed. All of her limbs were numb, and her breathing was heavy in her chest. Each breath was hard to complete, and her ribs were bruised from the crash landing.

But, through the pain, Angelica stood up and walked over to the campfire, started up by a few of the soldiers, where they were sitting, and resting for the time being. She sat next to the Sergeant, holding her hands close to the flames.

"Good work today, Angelica." He said softly to her, leaning forward, propped up by his elbows on his thighs. "You showed those ork bastards the meaning of Imperial might." She blushed and smirked, rubbing her hands together. Sergeant Lother looked at her. "How did you learn to fire like that?" He stared into the dancing fire as he spoke, the flames' light flickering over his scarred, shadowed face, and his various medals of honour. Lother's left arm was replaced with crude bionics, the bronze knuckles reflecting a hazel light around the feet of the soldiers.

"Sir… I… I don't say that I was the best marksman at training. I mean… yeah I could shoot to kill," she began, shaking her head. "But, not with the precision of today." Angelica grew silent, turning her head to look into the fire, the battle replaying in her mind, sequenced like a pict film. Her awaking to confusion and pandemonium, the screams and gunshots, and the singing and the holy light. It all seemed to be linked.

"Then, when I was fighting, I heard singing, as if from a holy choir. They were bathed in pure light, and they were singing hymns of triumph. I could feel someone looking at me, their gaze slowly turning, then locking with my soul…" She stopped, thinking she sounded absurd, but she continued all the same. " From their gaze, I could feel my body become a vessel for something more powerful than anything. The feel of being risen above everything… Pain, sorrow, anger, but filled with a righteous anger towards the enemies of mankind." She looked at him, her words filled with passion and conviction. She was Touched by the Emperor.

"I think," Lother began after her explanation, "that you were blessed by Him. I'm not a priest or a Cardinal, and there are no priests that survived the crash. I'm confident you aren't lying, to gain attention, or any special favors." He took in the information that he had given him, making sure not to forget any minor detail. Deep in his soul, he had to be sure, so later he was going to send word to the Inquisitorial Fortress. Now, however, he had a bigger situation looming ahead.

"Alright ladies," he suddenly called over the soldiers' heads, startling a few of them. "Listen up! We stay here for the night. I want a perimeter set up around the camp ASAP. Three hour shifts will patrol, if enemies are encountered en mass, throw a grenade into those green skinned bastards and fire your weapon on full auto. Call for backup as well IMMEDIATELY!" Lother yelled, and the soldiers made ready the perimeters, moving to their marks. Though the night passed with no events, the Sergeant was ever busy trying to figure out where they were, in correlation to their objective, and to enemy lines. The Sergeant managed to find their location, and planned accordingly…

""

Second chapter is finished, I hope you enjoy it so far. Just so you know, this story is going to be EXTREMELY LONG and might even have to be separated in books. So, R&R and be nice!


	3. Chapter 3

"Soldiers, rise and shine!" The Sergeant's harsh, yet committed words started the soldiers awake. "Time to move out. Our objective now is to reach HQ, about 485 kilometers south. We will be in enemy territory the rest of the time, so be on your guard, especially for ork kommandos and guerilla fighters." His eyes locked onto Angelica, who was in the middle of a yawn, and froze as she noticed the Sergeant's eyes on her. She stopped herself and put her arms to her sides, and Lother smirked, chuckling in his head. He continued.

"They'll be mostly in the woods and mountains. We depart in three hours. The Emperor Protects." With those last words, the ork trap was sprung. Orks dressed in white, bloodstained smocks jumped the surprised soldiers with a cry of 'WAAAGH!' Sergeant Lother, honed from many years experience in war, whipped out his bolt pistol with ease, shooting down one ork as he whipped out his chainsword, cutting one down in turn, it's head falling to the ground with a wet thump, arterial blood pumping with each dying heart beat from its neck. Then, Lother unleashed a round into its massive chest, the bolt round opening it's ribcage with a splatter. The ork's organ and bone flew everywhere, the mass reactive round exploding internally, milliseconds after penetration.

His soldiers weren't fairing as well, the massive creatures ripping apart those that froze from the shock. Their screams filled the air, the sound in contest with the roars of the stampeding greenskins. Lother's chainsword and pistol were carving a bloody swathe through the attackers, and orks were falling dead left and right.

Angelica was horrified by the orks' surprise attack. Her comrades were being flayed before her very eyes, and she nearly took a step back to run, but the Commissar's grim, unfeeling voice echoed in her mind. She shuddered, and suddenly, was filled with a sense of calm. Duty and survival shot through her like a sudden, passionate emotion, and she ordered the soldiers around her to set up a firing line. They quickly fell in line, three deep.

"Three round bursts, pick your targets, and the Emperor guide your hands." She rose her lasgun and began to gun down an ork with each burst, and the Imperial counter attack began. With skill and precision drilled into their subconscious, they began to decimate the ork party. Never missing a beat, each soldier accounted for two dead orks. The las rounds sounded like controlled lightning, and with each crack, a drove of orks fell, their flesh cooking form the shots.

When Lother finished off the last remaining orks, he strode up to Angelica, a smirk on his scarred face.

"That was some fine leadership private. I've never seen a green horn take command so easily." He grinned before continuing. "The ork surprise attack cut me off from the platoon, and you stepped up to rally them into a counterattack. Impressive." He ruffled the young Ange's hair, and the way he explained it couldn't hide that he was full of admiration of what Angelica did. He continued. "Since everyone is up and about, it's time to march.

"But sir, what about the dead?" A soldier stepped up, his question sounded with mild enthusiasm, not caring how the sergeant reacted.

"Leave them. Their souls are commended for their service," Lother replied absentmindedly.

Angelica looked at the mangled corpses that littered the ground. Young men and orks strewn about the bloody snow, bleeding from open wounds, chainsaw slashes, or dismembered limbs. One face caught her attention above the others. He must have been only nineteen, his eyes wide with fear, jaw open to let out a scream that was never heard. She walked over to his corpse, away from the platoon. She knelt down in the bloody snow, and picked up his dog tags. After him, she proceeded to remove all the dead's dog tags. Saying a silent prayer, she ran back towards the platoon, the pang of the lost biting her at the very soul of her being.

What was left of the regiment trudged on, through snow and enemy infested forests. Occasionally they stopped to eat and rest, but not for a long amount of time. Skirmishes between the regiment and marauding orks increased as the platoon's numbers decreased. When they finally reached the end of the forest, their quarry was in sight. But, what they saw and heard was disheartening. As they watched, headquarters was being bombarded.

"Alright you mangy dogs, home is within our grasp. But, it looks like the green skins want it. Are we going to let them take it?!" The Sergeant's voice was full of fire and righteous vengeance. The soldiers replied with a vigorous 'No Sir!'

"Well then, go get them! CHARGE!" Sergeant Lother, in an elaborate twirl, pointed his chainsword, and the platoon charged.

Through bitter rounds and artillery explosions, they charged on. Every soldier was killing the greenskinned bastards left and right. The headquarters was too far to run too, but by the Emperor's grace, they found an abandoned chimera, still operational. Lother looked back as the platoon filed in to Angelica, who dispatched an ork with a point blank range las round to the forehead. "Ange, come on!" She looked up and began to run to the Chimera, but suddenly disappeared in a whirl of smoke, and a crump of an artillery round exploding, meters from her. She let out a throat ripping scream as she felt the heated metal fragments tear her muscles, severing veins and tendons, and burn her flesh. Lother's eyes widened, as she watched her fall, screaming, and he himself jumped out of the Chimera.

"Bring it around and pick us up! By the Emperor do it QUICKLY!" He roared at his platoon as he sprinted to Angelica, falling close to her body on his knees as he picked her up. "Ange! Ange stay together, we're almost home!" His desperate pleas were drowned out by the oncoming Chimera.

Once they were aboard, Ange looked up at him through bloody eyes, her mouth turning into a red pool as she tried to speak. She coughed and it showered on the Sergeant, but he didn't care. "I… Sarge… I see…" She coughed again as her mouth became another pool of blood. He shushed her and shook his head.

"Ange don't use up your strength speaking," he said, swallowing as he began to rapidly recite prayers to the Emperor, pleading for her life. Another artillery shell exploded a few feet from the Chimera and shrapnel tore through the armor. Lother growled as he covered over his beloved Angelica with his own body so she would not get harmed anymore, and felt the torn metal rip his back apart. "Sonuvabitch!" He cursed, wincing as he got up and ordered the rest of the platoon (all of six men) to counterattack. He watched one soldier's head explode as his fire was cut short and turned to Ange, who's hand was now wrapped around the cord holding his dog tags.

"Sarge…" Her voice was barely a whisper, to the point he had to lean down so that she could whisper in his ear. "I see…" She turned her head to the side so that her Sergeant wouldn't get showered in the ear with blood, but her head stayed that way as her eyes glazed over. "Emp…"

Her body let out a ragged breath, and grew limp, and her hand slowly slid off his dog tags. He lowered his forehead to her chest and wept…

(Chapter Three –finally- done! Though it's partly my fault for the delay… Sorry!)


End file.
